Nick’s Picks: And Then There Was One
After nine weeks of an exciting regular season, we were left with an uneventful first round of sectional games. Of our five local teams, four lost. That leaves just the Whitko Wildcats as the lone team representing any Ink Free News interest.
In addition, all of our local volleyball teams were eliminated. So, that leaves Whitko football and Warsaw cross country.The Lady Tigers advanced as a team to this weekend’s state finals while individuals Owen Glogovsky and Zeb Hernandez also qualified for the boys team. Best of luck to those runners.
Believe it or not, girls basketball starts next week. No, not practices, games. Yes, the winter sports season is already back and I can’t believe it. I will be following Whikto football for the remainder of their tournament run, but won’t start with basketball until both the boys and girls teams are playing in late November.
I know for a fact people have been waiting all week for me to comment on the Wawasee-Plymouth football sectional game I was at last week. The Rockies ran up the score with their first team offense up until the closing seconds of the game to win 66-7. It was difficult to watch. Administrators, officials and parents were all kind of bothered by the event. I can say that, as a Wawasee grad and sports fan, it was tough to witness.
I have this weekly article to write about whatever I choose, and I will. I’ll carry on with the understanding that it won’t change anything. It won’t change the score, it won’t change the feelings or attitude of Plymouth’s coach.
The bottom line is that it was a sickening display of sportsmanship. A key Plymouth player went down with an injury on the final two-point conversion attempt. He walked off under his own power and I assume he will be fine for Friday’s game at DeKalb and I hope that he is. But, had he been seriously injured, would it have been worth it? Would it have been worth sacrificing a sectional run to prove a point to a three-win team? I certainly wouldn’t think so. I think the idea of leaving the starters in that long showed a total disrespect for their health. Maybe I’m just bitter about a team that beat “my” school. I don’t know, it feels like something deeper than that.
But, for the record, “my” school isn’t off the hook either. While Plymouth was busy running the score up between their three onside kicks, two Wawasee dads decided it was an opportune time to get into a yelling match in the stands. As if one display of poor sportsmanship wasn’t enough for the evening.
All around, it was a sickening night for high school sports. I honestly don’t care if that game was between Wawasee and Plymouth, Central Noble and Churubusco or Carmel and Westfield. It doesn’t matter. The lack of respect for the game, for the well-being of players and for fellow parents in the stands was just disappointing in so many ways.
And when I say “disappointing” I don’t mean it in the sense that your favorite sports team just lost kind of disappointment. I mean it like when your dad gets a hold of your report card and you have one bad grade and he gives you that look and says how disappointed he is. That’s how it felt for me as a sports writer Friday night watching what I did on the field only to turn around and witness something as uncalled for in the stands.
Oh boy, I’m really getting on a rant here. I’m going to stop myself and go take a nap.
As always, thanks for reading, Kosciusko. Whether you’re doing it because you enjoy what I have to say or just because you like to laugh at the idea of how my mind works, I appreciate the clicks.
Let’s get to it.
Last Week: 6-1
Overall: 55-29
High School Football Sectional Round Two 10/30
Churubusco (6-4) at Whitko (5-5), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: I thought the Wildcats would win last week, I even thought they would win by a lot. But then they went out and outdid my expectations. Instead of the 30-0 predicted score I had, Whitko won 45-0 and held Prairie Heights to -34 total yards. That’s ridiculous regardless of who you’re playing.
This week’s game presents a much tougher opponent in Churubusco. The Eagles were 34-3 winners over South Adams and average just under 30 points per game.
When looking at common foes, there is just one in Prairie Heights. Churubusco beat the Panthers 42-0. That’s three points less than Whitko. So, basically, Whitko enters this game with a three-point advantage. Plus the ‘Cats are playing at home, that’s at least another three points. So, we’re already at 6-0 Whitko and the game has yet to start.
Throw in Whitko’s stellar defensive play (11.5 points per game) and I thin this shapes up well for the Wildcats.
Just to cap things off right, the Wildcats are on a one-game winning streak against the Eagles. Last time these two met Whitko enjoyed a 14-12 win. Sure, that was back in 1975, but it still counts.
I feel good about the Wildcats this week and I think they will get their shot at a sectional title next week.
Nick’s Pick: Whitko 26, Churubusco 17.
College Football 10/31
Nebraska (3-5, 1-3) at Purdue (1-6, 0-3), 12 p.m.
The Scoop: Purdue got a nice bye last week, that’s an entire extra week to prepare for an underachieving Nebraska squad. The Cornhuskers will start Ryker Fyfe in place of Tommy Armstrong. This will be Fyfe’s first career start, so he will certainly be trembling in front of Purdue’s not-so-capacity crowd. I feel really weird, and sort of dirty, doing this, but I’m picking the Boilers here for reasons that I’m not really sure of. Maybe it’s the idea of Fyfe, maybe it’s thinking Purdue is just due, I don’t know. Either way, I’m going with the Boilers in a move I’m sure I’ll regret.
Nick’s Pick: Purdue 31, Nebraska 25.
No. 9 Notre Dame (6-1) at No. 21 Temple (7-0), 8 p.m.
The Scoop: Who would have ever thought that a game between Temple and Notre Dame would be surrounded with so much hype? This is a critical game for both teams. If ND wins, its playoff dreams stay alive. If Temple comes out victorious then it will finally be legitimized and Owls everywhere will be able to hoot with sincere pride.
I might be stubborn or something here but I really like the Irish in this game, especially seeing as they’re coming off the bye. I can’t see Brian Kelly taking a team into a big game like this and losing when he is given that extra week of preparation. I expect DeShone Kizer a statement game for ND and the Irish move to 7-1.
Nick’s Pick: Notre Dame 42, Temple 20.
NFL 11/1-11/2
Minnesota (4-2) at Chicago (2-4), 1 p.m.
The Scoop: If the Bears want to make a move, it needs to happen now. Jay Cutler is playing well, the receivers are doing their and the defense is…umm…playing football. Okay, so the defense still needs work but Chicago still has a chance at a good season, a loss here will certainly end that though.
Minnesota is a solid team with a great defense but the Vikings are far from elite. I have a good feeling about the Bears this week. I think Alshon Jeffery will have a big game (my fantasy team needs him to) and Chicago will get an impressive win.
Nick’s Pick: Bears 27, Vikings 17.
Indianapolis (3-4) at Carolina (6-0), 8:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Well, isn’t this a beautiful disaster?
The Colts are a mess, a talented mess, but a mess. I won’t be surprised if they win this game but it seems laughable that they could actually emerge with a victory after last week’s disaster at home against New Orleans.
Indy will still make the playoffs and still have a shot at the Super Bowl, but nobody will take this team seriously until the Colts beat a team like Carolina. I think better days are ahead for Indy, but Monday doesn’t seem like it will be that day.
Nick’s Pick: Panthers 20, Colts 10.